Methods and systems are provided to enable the capture of large (e.g., Gigapixel) images with high image quality using optical imaging systems that have a small form factor. The disclosed systems can be manufactured in a cost effective fashion, and can be readily assembled, aligned, tested and utilized. One such system comprises a monocentric primary optics section that includes one or more surfaces adapted to form a symmetrical arrangement around a common point of origin. The system also includes a secondary optics section that includes a plurality of secondary optics subsections, where each secondary optics subsection can intercept at least a portion of the light collected by the monocentric primary optics section. The combination of the primary optics section and the secondary optics section is adapted to form an image.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A system, comprising: a monocentric primary optics section including one or more surfaces adapted to form a symmetrical arrangement around a common point of origin; a secondary optics section including a plurality of secondary optics subsections arranged at different field angles to intercept and capture different portions of light output by the monocentric primary optics at the different field angles, wherein each secondary optics subsection is adapted to intercept at least a portion of light collected by the monocentric primary optics section to form a subimage as part of a full image in light collected by the monocentric primary optics section, and wherein combination of the primary optics section and the secondary optics section is adapted to form subimages by the secondary optics subsections that collectively represent the full image in light collected by the monocentric primary optics section.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein each of the secondary optics subsections fits within a conical volume radiating from the common point of origin of the primary optics section.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein each of the secondary optics subsections is adapted to correct on-axis aberrations produced by the monocentric primary optics section, and each of the secondary optics subsections includes a component that is rotationally symmetric around the optical axis of the corresponding secondary optics subsection.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein all of the secondary optics subsections have substantially similar shape, material and focal planes.
5. The system of claim 1 , comprising: a plurality of imaging sensors that are coupled to receive light from the plurality of secondary optics subsections, respectively; and a signal processing component that combines individual images from the imaging sensors into a single image.
6. The system of claim 1 , comprising an aperture stop for each combination of the primary optics section-secondary optics subsection, wherein the aperture stop is located within the secondary optics subsection.
7. The system of claim 1 , where at least a portion of the primary optics section provides an optomechanical reference surface for alignment of a secondary optics subsection.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the primary optics section comprises spherical or hemispherical elements.
9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the secondary optics section comprises a plurality of subsections and each subsection comprises a plurality of lenses.
10. The system of claim 9 , wherein each subsection comprises a field lens near an internal image plane and one or more secondary lenses which form an image of the internal image plane.
11. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion the secondary optics section provides lateral mechanical registration of the individual remaining elements of the secondary lens and detector systems.
12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the image is formed at multiple discrete image regions, each image region corresponding to a field of view captured by a combination of the monocentric primary optics section and a secondary optics subsection.
13. The system of claim 12 , further comprising a plurality of image sensing elements positioned at the multiple discrete image regions and configured to sense images formed at each of the multiple discrete image regions.
14. An integrated imaging system, comprising: a monocentric objective; one or more substantially hemispherical three-dimensional optical components positioned to at least partially surround the monocentric objective, where each of the three-dimensional optical components comprises a plurality of optical elements, each of the plurality of optical elements is positioned to intercept light collected by the monocentric objective at a particular field of view; and a plurality of image sensors, wherein each image sensor of the plurality of image sensors is integrated into a corresponding subsection of a wafer level camera optics section.
15. The system of claim 14 , wherein each secondary optics subsection is structured to correct on-axis aberrations produced by the monocentric primary optics section.
16. The system of claim 14 , wherein all of the secondary optics subsections have substantially similar shape, material and focal planes.
17. A method, comprising: receiving light at a monocentric primary optics section of a monocentric multi-scale imaging device, the monocentric primary optics section comprising one or more surfaces adapted to form a symmetrical arrangement around a common point of origin; and forming an image using a secondary optics section of the monocentric multi-scale imaging device, the secondary optics section comprising a plurality of secondary optics subsections arranged at different field angles to intercept and capture different portions of light output by the monocentric primary optics at the different field angles, wherein each secondary optics subsection is adapted to intercept at least a portion of the light received by the monocentric primary optics sectional, wherein forming an image comprises combining a plurality of individual images produced by the secondary optics subsections into a single image.
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein each of the secondary optics subsections fits within a conical volume radiating from the common point of origin of the primary optics section.
19. The system of claim 17 , wherein each of the secondary optics subsections is adapted to correct on-axis aberrations produced by the monocentric primary optics section, and each of the secondary optics subsections includes a component that is rotationally symmetric around the optical axis of the corresponding secondary optics subsection.
20. The method of claim 17 , wherein all of the secondary optics subsections have substantially similar shape, material and focal planes.
21. The method of claim 17 , further comprising providing an aperture stop for each combination of the primary optics section-secondary optics subsection within the secondary optics subsection of the monocentric multi-scale imaging device.
22. The method of claim 17 , further comprising aligning a secondary optics subsection using at least a portion of the primary optics section as an optomechanical reference surface.
23. The method of claim 17 , wherein the primary optics section comprises spherical or hemispherical elements.
24. The method of claim 17 , wherein the secondary optics section comprises a plurality of subsections and each subsection comprises a plurality of lenses.
25. The method of claim 24 , wherein each subsection comprises a field lens near an internal image plane and a plurality of secondary lenses which form an image of the internal image plane.
26. The method of claim 17 , wherein at least a portion the secondary optics section provides lateral mechanical registration of the individual remaining elements of the secondary lens and detector systems.
27. The method of claim 17 , wherein forming the image comprises producing multiple discrete images, and wherein each of the multiple discrete images corresponds to a field of view of the monocentric multi-scale imager captured by a combination of the monocentric primary optics section and a secondary optics subsection.
28. The method of claim 27 , further comprising sensing each of the multiple discrete images using image sensing elements positioned at the multiple discrete image locations.
29. The method of claim 17 , comprising using each secondary optics subsection to correct on-axis aberrations produced by the monocentric primary optics section in forming a corresponding individual image from received light.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
April 2, 2012
January 6, 2015
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